Optimizing Care Transition Process for Older Colorectal Surgery Patients

May 8, 2026 updated by: Sevdenur Cizginer Konuk, MD, MPH, Massachusetts General Hospital

Optimization of Care and Recovery in Older Colorectal Surgery Patients: A Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Pilot Study Protocol

The goal of this study to test if a care transition intervention designed for older colorectal surgery patients would improve outcomes after discharge. It will assess the feasibility of the intervention.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The period following discharge poses particularly high risks for older colorectal surgery patients. Nearly a quarter of these patients are readmitted within a month of discharge due to a variety of issues including medication errors, surgical complications, imbalance in fluid or nutrition, or worsening of pre-existing chronic diseases.Recognizing the complex interplay of these factors, it isa more comprehensive approach is imperative to improve post- operative patient care. Geriatrics co-management programs incorporate interdisciplinary patient management approaches and geriatric principles to improve outcomes in older surgical patients.The OSCAR program is an integrated care model developed by geriatricians in collaboration with colorectal surgeons that combines geriatrics co-management with postoperative surgical care for older colorectal surgery patients. The care transition intervention (CTI) is a well-established care transition model that focuses on four domains at discharge: 1) medication self-management, 2) the personal health record, 3) timely primary care/specialty care follow-up, and 4) knowledge of red flags that indicate a worsening in condition. CTI involves interactions with a trained transition coach, both in-person visits and phone calls over four weeks. In this study, the goal is to bridge the gap between inpatient and post-discharge phases and mitigate the risk of hospital readmissions through adaptation and combination of the core components of a geriatric surgery core co-management (OSCAR) program with the core components of a care transition (CTI) program by applying an implementation research approach. By customizing OSCAR co-management model with the CTI intervention model, the investigators will leverage their strengths and, efficiently address the unique requirements of both patients and the healthcare environment. The investigators will conduct a pilot feasibility hybrid type I implementation effectiveness trial of OSCAR-S.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
30

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adult patients (>65 years old)
  • Scheduled to undergo an elective colorectal surgery procedure
  • Ability to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Emergent, non-elective colorectal procedures
  • Non-English Speaking

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: OSCAR-S Care Transition Model
The surgery nurse coach within the OSCAR-S model will provide touch points to patients and families to support their transition from hospital to home after surgery.
Behavioral: OSCAR-S Care Transition Model
Patients and families in the intervention arm will receive touch points from the surgery nurse coach to support their care transition from hospital to home after surgery.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Postdischarge 30-day readmission or death
Time Frame: 30 days
Composite incidence of all-cause hospital readmission or death within 30 days of discharge, measured by medical record review and hospital administrative data.
30 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Adoption
Time Frame: 12 months
Percentage of eligible providers (surgeons, hospitalists, primary care physicians) who engage in at least one documented communication with the nurse coach during the patient's transition period, measured by electronic health record (EHR) audit logs.
12 months
Reach
Time Frame: 12 months
Percentage of eligible older colorectal surgery patients who are enrolled in the OSCAR-S intervention, measured by comparing enrollment logs against surgical case lists.
12 months
Fidelity
Time Frame: 12 months
Continued adherence to the OSCAR-S protocol at 12 months, measured by a fidelity checklist (e.g., completion of required nurse coach touch points, red-flag education, follow-up scheduling) reviewed by study staff.
12 months
Effectiveness - Patient Satisfaction
Time Frame: 30 days
Patient-reported satisfaction with the care transition process, measured by the Care Transitions Measure (CTM-3) total score (range 0-100; higher scores indicate better satisfaction). Higher scores indicate better (more positive) satisfaction with the care transition.
30 days
Effectiveness - Postoperative Complications
Time Frame: 30 days
Incidence of postoperative complications (e.g., surgical site infection, ileus, dehydration) within 30 days of discharge, measured by medical record review using Clavien-Dindo classification (Grade I to V).
30 days

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Massachusetts General Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 30, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
December 18, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 20, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
December 30, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 13, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 8, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • K76AG078620-02 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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